Ten Equity Implications of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak in the United States
Read the full NAACP Report
Highlights:
I. Racism and stigmatization have increased, particularly towards the Asian and Asian American population.
II. Certain populations face differential exposure and extensive corresponding implications
III. Frontline workers face tough choices amid differential health and economic risks and impacts.
IV. Democracy vehicles are being jeopardized by coronavirus impacts.
V. Coronavirus remediation will result in increased exposure to toxic cleaning chemicals from products used in households, businesses, schools, which may harm occupants and cleaners.
VI. School impacts may include infection outbreaks due to confined spaces. Also, if schools close, children who rely on free meals may suffer from missed meals, college students may experience housing insecurity if they don’t have a home to which to return, and students will experience education interruption.
VII. Testing kits are lacking and when they become available, it’s unclear how access will be prioritized and for whom, as well as what the implications of diagnosis will be for those who are uninsured.
VIII. Quarantine policies and practices are unfolding with a risk to human and civil rights, given the unprecedented scale of the outbreak, possibly exacerbated by the historic experiences of marginalized communities with state sponsored confinement.
IX. The coronavirus has already been used to justify restrictive immigration policies and increased militarization.
X. Denial and misinformation on the crisis can exacerbate the outbreak, by discouraging critical precautions.
